Understanding environmental and airborne routes of transmission

This COVID-19 Rapid Response award is jointly funded (50:50) between the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research. The figure displayed is the total award amount of the two funders combined, with each partner contributing equally towards the project. This project is intended to provide the evidence base for environmental infection control to help control transmission in the healthcare and other environments. The following questions will be addressed Does SARS-CoV-2 survive in the aerosol state in a range of environmental conditions and for how long? Can SARS-CoV-2 survive on a range of environmental surfaces found in healthcare facilities and domestic premises and for how long? Are commonly used room decontamination systems effective at inactivating SARS-CoV-2? Are commonly used air sampling techniques capable of effectively sampling SARS-CoV-2 for subsequent analysis by PCR and plaque assay? All these questions will be addressed using fully developed published methodologies currently available at PHE Porton Down allowing the questions to be answered rapidly. The results of the studies will inform infection control practices and other linked studies carried out within healthcare facilities within the UK and internationally.